Package



Oct. 3, 1967 w. G. RAWLINGS 3,344,915

PACKAGE Filed July 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l FlG.l

FIG.4

/NVEN7'0/? WALLACE G. RAWLI NGS A TTORNEVS Oct. 3, 1967 W. G. RAWLINGS PACKAGE Filed July 22. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR v WALLACE e. RAWLINGS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 7 3,344,915 PACKAGE Wallace G. Rawlings, Greenwood, S.C., assignor to Parke, Davis & Company, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Michigan Filed July 22, 1965, Ser. No. 473,973 9 Claims. (Cl. 20656) This invention relates to improvements in packages for fiat articles such as surgical supplies and to the method of making the same.

Sterile surgical articles such as sponges, gauze pads, dressings or the like are often packaged with two or more in a single package, preferably in such a manner that they can be removed for use one at a time without the holder of the package having to touch either the article being removed or the other article remaining in the pakage. Heretofore, for example as disclosed in United States Patents Nos. 2,968,396, 3,119,495 and 3,148,771, such surgical articles have been packaged in twos by placing the articles superimposed between two sheets of paper, permeable to air, but impervious to airborne bacteria, and then bonding together the peripheral edges of the paper sheets with thermoplastic or other adhesive to protect the enclosed contents. When intended for sale as sterile surgical articles, the sealed package is then steam treated to sterilize the contents thereof, the sealed package subsequently providing protection from microorganisms until it is opened. Further protection is provided by the package after being opened inasmuch as the same serves to keep the exposed contents out of contact with a table or other support on which the open package may be placed pending Withdrawal of its contents.

To facilitate such usage the package is preferably formed by sealing together two superimposed sheets of paper along one edge, folding each sheet back over the sealed edge from a fold line spaced from the sealed edge toform two pockets between the sheets, one for receiving an edge portion of each article, and thereafter sealing together the remaining juxtaposed edges of two sheets to completely enclose the two articles. This permits a nurse or surgeon to open the package merely by inserting his thumb into the space between the fold sections to spread them apart, whereupon the folds may be easily gripped and pulled apart to break the bond between said fold sections, such pulling simultaneously breaking open the side edges of the package. The package is then spread apart and laid flat to expose both articles, each article thereby being separated from the other.

However, folded packages of this type present a problem of sealing at the point along the bonded periphery where the package changes thickness, as for example from two ply to four ply. In prior art packages having a straight edge lap seam at the change in ply thickness, a channel extends in a straight line between its outer and inner ends through which, unless special precautions are taken to insure that the adhesive fills this channel, airborne bacteria can readily pass into the package, particularly where the package is of a flexible nature so that the package acts as a bellows when squeezed and released, resulting in contamination of the package contents. While it has been proposed to guard against such an opening at the ply change by making sure the same is caulked by the thermoplastic adhesive, as set forth in United States Patent No. 3,070,225, in practice this is a dlfi'lClllll condition to achieve uniformly in rapid production processes consistent with the low cost nature of the product.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a lap seam construction well adapted for use in a sterile package and operable to prevent ingress of airborne bacteria to the contents of the package.

A further object is to provide an improved package of the above character embodying an improved sealing structure which is efiective against the entrance of bacteria at any point to the package.

Another object is to provide an improved package of the above character which permits the user to maintain reliable control of the contents of the package while opening the package, thereby preventing inadvertent dropping or touching of the sterile article contained therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of wrapping superimposed fiat articles in a manner to insure reliable sealing of the articles from contamination by airborne bacteria and to facilitate individual removal upon opening of the package in a sanitary manner.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a package which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction, neat in appearance, sanitary, and well adapted for the purposes described.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a flat, rectangular piece of paper from which the package is preferably formed.

FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views illustrating successive steps in making the package of the invention from the sheet of paper of FIG. 1 in accordance with the method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the finished package.

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating in more detail the lap seam seal construction of the package of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view on the scale of FIG. 7 illustrating a portion of the seam construction of the package and the manner in which it prevents ingress of airborne bacteria.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the package of the invention after the same has been torn open to expose and separate two surgical sponges packaged therein.

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of a modified package embodiment also in accordance with the present invention, with a portion broken away to illustrate detail.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention The method of making a package in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in sequence in FIGS. 1-5 inclusive. It is to be understood, however, that the illustrated packages are merely examples of many package styles in which the present invention can be utilized, and that the invention is not limited to use only in the specific packages shown. Referring to FIG. 1, a single sheet 21} of paper, preferably a relatively inexpensive, thin, non-transparent packaging paper such as white sulphite, is coated along a marginal area bordering all four edges of the sheet with a pressure sensitivetype adhesive material to provide an adhesive margin 22. The reverse side of sheet 29 is coated in a transverse band or zone 24 with a thermoplastic caulking adhesive or other suitable heat and pressure type sealant, as indicated by the bracketed area in FIG. 1.

Prior to applying adhesive to margin 22 but after coating zone 24 with adhesive, sheet 20 is folded in half along the central fold line 26 (FIG. 1) to bring the folded halves of the reverse side of sheet 20 face to face (FIG. 2). The folded edge 26 is then sealed by applying heat and pressure to the folded edge inwardly to the line indicated 28 in FIG. 2, thereby bonding together the folded halves of the transverse band 24.

The next step in the method of the invention is to cut or trim ofi part of the folded, bonded edge of sheet inwardly of the fold line 26, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2, to thereby form the intermediate article shown in FIG. 3-. In accordance with a principal feature of'the present invention, this trimming operation is done by making a pinking type out from at least the outer side edges of the sheet inwardly through the adhesive margin 22 to thereby form a sawtooth edge made up of, for example, three teeth 32, 34 and 36 on one side and three teeth 38, 4t} and 42 across the adhesive margin at the other side of the sheet. Intermediate the adhesive margins the folded edge is sheared off on a straight line 44. The severed folded portion is discarded, the remaining package at this stage now consisting of two separate pieces of paper 46 and 48 sealed together along the upper edge inwardly to the line 28. Adhesive may then be conveniently applied to margin 22.

Referring to FIG. 4, the package is next folded into a W shape to form a pocket 50 between the facing sides of sheet 46. One edge of a sponge or similar size surgical dressing 54 is inserted into pocket 50, and another sponge 56 likewise inserted into pocket 52, the sponges lying inwardly of adhesive margin 22. The folded package is then'closed, as shown in FIG. 5, so that the adhesive margin 22 of sheet 46 contacts the adhesive margin 22 of sheet 48 along the three remaining unsealed edges of the package. The margins 22 of the closed package are then subjected to pressure to thereby seal the package along the two opposite side edges 58 and 6t) and what is now the top edge 62.

Referring to FIG. 6, which is an end view on an exaggerated scale of the finished package of FIG. 5, it will be seen that a pair of folds 49 and 51 have thus been formed which are unattached to one another except for the portion from line 28 to thepartially serrated edge 32-44, thereby permitting folds 49 and 51 to be spread apart by inserting the forefinger therebetween. This arrangement facilitates reopening of the sealed package inasmuch as sponge 54 may be indirectly gripped by clamping fold 51 between a thumb and finger of one hand and the other sponge 56 gripped in fold 49 between the thumb and finger of the other hand, whereupon the two folds may be readily pulled away from one another to tear open the sealed joint along the serrated edge 3244 and thence along the sides of the package back to the joint along the top edge 62, thereby tearing open the package along the sealed margins as shown in FIG. 9. The sponges 54 and 56 are now individually exposed for removal, neither one touching the other or the exterior of the package. The package in this condition may be laid outerside-down on a table, and will protect the sponges from contamination from the surface of the table while one or both of the sponges are retained in the pockets ready for immediate withdrawal and use. If desired, the package may be completely ripped apart to separate sheet 46 from sheet 48, thereby providing two separate half packages each containing one sponge.

Preferably the adhesive applied to band 24 differs from that applied to margin 22, the former being of a heat and pressure thermosetting type having less adhesion than the latter so that the serrated edge 32-44 may be more easily torn apart than the edges sealed by the adhesive along margin 22. This facilitates opening of the package with a quick pull on folds 49 and 51 which, if continued will tear the two sheets 46 and 48 apart where they are joined along their side edges until the transverse sealed edge 62 is reached, whereupon a much greater force is required to sever the package into two separate ,sheets. This insures that the package is not torn asunder when it is desired merely to lay the same open as in FIG. 9.

The foregoing package construction is particularly well adapted for the packaging of sterile articles, inasmuch as the adhered marginal areas extending across the sawtooth across the lap seam, this ply change may cause sheet 46 i to be separated from sheet 48 to thereby create a channel or tunnel 66 (FIGS. 6 and 7) which at its outer end at the side of the package is open to outside atmosphere and which communicates at its inner end with the interior of the package beyond the adhesive margin 22. Accordingly, the present invention, while hopefully also blocking this space by the flow of the adhesive on margin 22, recognizes that in some instances there still may be a slight opening or channel large enough to permit entry of airborne bacteria. With the sawtooth edge of the present invention any separation of sheets 46 and 48 at their junction with the four-ply thickness of the package will result in a channel 66 which, instead of being straight across the adhesive seam, is a zigzag tortuous path due to the sawtooth configuration of the teeth 3242 formed in the pinking cut in the operation of FIG. 3. Consequently any air current inducted into the package via channel 66 must make five or six turns before it reaches the interior of the package, as illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 8. As a result airborne bacteria will tend to impinge against and hang upon the walls of channel 66 at the outside of each curve hereof. Due to the number of turns (three turns being presently preferred as the minimum number of turns across the sealed area 22), the risk of bacteria ever 1 reaching the interior of the package under normal conditions of use is greatly reduced. Hence, by the simple expedient of insuring that two of the four-ply layers of the package have a jagged or serrated edge from the outer edge made up of a plurality of scalloped shaped teeth 72 hesive margin, a much more reliable sterile package is obtained without requiring any extra precautions or special treatment with respect to the heat sealing of the package at the ply change.

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 respectively illustrate three variations of the concept of the invention which have in common the feature that the serrated edge formed in the cut operation of FIG. 3 continues all the way across the package rather than just in the adhesive margin area. In addition, FIG. 10 illustrates a serrated edge made up of a series of sinusoidal teeth 70 as an alternative to the sawtooth shape of teeth 32-42. FIG. 11 illustrates a serrated edge made up of a plurality of scalloped shaped teeth 72 to provide the tortuous path at the transition between the two and four-ply thickness of the package. FIG. 12 illusstrates a serrated edge made up of a series of teeth 74 of saw tooth form associated with fold 51 and another series of sawtooth teeth 76 associated with fold 49, teeth 74 being cut in offset relationship with teeth 76 so that the 'peak of each tooth 74 registers with a valley of an associated tooth 76, thereby doubling the number of bends for a given number of teeth at the junction of the two-ply thickness with the four-ply thickness of the package.

From the foregoing description, it will now be apparent that the invention provides an economical, sanitary package which reliably protects its contents against contamination by airborne bacteria and that the method of the invention permits economical manufacture of this package by mass production techniques.

I claim:

1. A sterile sealed package comprising superimposed first, second, third and fourth plies of material each having oppositely disposed end edges and oppositely disposed side edges, said plies having about the same dimension between the respective side edges thereof, said third and fourth plies each having a shorter dimension between the respective end edges thereof than that of said first and second plies and being interposed between said first and second plies respectively adjacent one of said end edges thereof, said third and fourth plies being secured along said side edges and one of said end edges thereof respectively to said first and second plies to form respectively a first pocket between said first and third plies and a second pocket between said second and fourth plies, at least two sterile articles disposed between said first and second plies with one end of one of said articles inserted in said first pocket and one end of the other of said articles inserted in said second pocket, said other end edges of said first and second plies remote from said one end edges thereof being sealably interconnected and said side edges of first and second plies being juxtaposed and adhesively interbonded to one another except where separated by said interposed third and fourth plies, means sealably connecting said third and fourth plies along the other end edges of said third and fourth plies remote from said one end edges thereof to thereby sealably interconnect said second and first plies via said third and fourth plies, said third and fourth plies each having first and second portions of said other end edges thereof extending transversely across and overlapped by the juxtaposed side edges of said first and second plies, said first and second portions each being serrated in the plane thereof to form a plurality of projections spaced therealong and extending therefrom whereby should an airspace exist where the side edges of said first and second plies diverge from their juxtaposed interbonded relationship with one another to overlap said serrated portions of said third and fourth plies said projections form a tortuous wall along such airspace for collecting airborne bacteria inducted by air currents into such airspace.

2. The package as set forth in claim 1 wherein said projections are sawtooth in form.

3. The package as set forth in claim 1 wherein said projections are scalloped in form.

4. The package as set forth in claim 1 wherein said projections are sinusoidal in form.

5. The package as set forth in claim 1 wherein said projections of said third and fourth plies are aligned with one another.

6. The package as set forth in claim 1 wherein said projections of said third and fourth plies are arranged in mutually offset staggered relation with one another.

7. The sterile package set forth in claim 1 wherein said third and fourth plies each consist of a portion of said first and second plies respectively which is folded back upon itself along a fold line at said one edge of said first and second plies respectively to form said first and second pockets respectively.

8. The sterile package set forth in claim 7 wherein said third and fourth plies are substantially coextensive and juxtaposed on one another but are free of one another along said one end edges thereof to facilitate manual separation of said package along said one end edges of said third and fourth plies for tearing the package open.

9. The sterile package set forth in claim 8 wherein said first ply is secured and sealed to said third ply and said second ply in secured and sealed to said fourth ply by a pressure sensitive adhesive material, said edges of said first and second plies except where said third and fourth plies are interposed also being secured and sealed to one another by a pressure sensitive adhesive material, said remote edges of said third and fourth plies being secured and sealed to one another by a thermoplastic heat and pressure type adhesive.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,994,262 3/1935 Winding 161-38 X 2,440,022 4/1948 Salfisberg 22948 2,443,484 6/1948 Van Sickels 22948 X 2,484,749 10/ 1949 Salfishberg.

2,929,180 3/ 1960 Abrams et al. 5329 2,968,396 1/1961 Pratt 20663.2 2,997,166 8/ 1961 Pratt.

3,119,495 1/1964 Pratt.

3,148,771 9/ 1964 Miller 206-63.2 3,182,430 5/1965 Hoeppner 5629 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. I. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STERILE SEALED PACKAGE COMPRISING SUPERIMPOSED FIRST, SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES OF MATERIAL EACH HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED END EDGES AND OPPOSITELY DISPOSED SIDE EDGES, SAID PLIES HAVING ABOUT THE SAME DIMENSION BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE SIDE EDGES THEREOF, SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES EACH HAVING A SHORTER DIMENSION BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE END EDGES THEREOF THAN THAT OF A SAID FIRST AND SECONE PLIES AND BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT ONE OF SAID END EDGES, THEREOF, SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES BEING SECURED ALONG SAID SIDE EDGES AND ONE OF SAID END EDGES THEREOF RESPECTIVELY TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES TO FORM RESPECTIVELY A FIRST POCKET BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND THIRD PLIES AND A SECOND POCKET BETWEEN SAID SECOND AND FOURTH PLIES, AT LEAST TWO STERILE ARTICLES DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES WITH ONE END OF SAID ARTICLES INSERTED IN SAID FIRST POCKET AND ONE END OF THE OTHER OF SAID ARTICLES INSERTED IN SAID SECOND POCKET, SAID OTHER END EDGES SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES REMOTE FROM SAID ONE END EDGES THEREOF BEING SEALABLY INTERCONNECTED AND SAID SIDE EDGES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND PLIES BEING JUXTAPOSED AND ADHESIVELY INTERBONDED TO ONE ANOTHER EXCEPT WHERE SEPARATED BY SAID INTERPOSED THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES, MEANS SEALABLY CONNECTING SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES ALONG THE OTHER END EDGES OF SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES REMOTE FROM SAID ONE END EDGES THEREOF TO THEREBY SEALABLY INTERCONNECT SAID SECOND AND FIRST PLIES VIA SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES, SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES EACH HAVING FIRST AND SECOND PORTIONS OF SAID OTHER END EDGES THEREOF EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS AND OVERLAPPED BY THE JUXTAPOSED SIDE EDGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES, SAID FIRST AND SECOND PORTIONS EACH BEING SERRATED INT HE PLANE THEREOF TO FORM A PLURALITY OF PROJECTIONS SPACED THEREALONG AND EXTENDING THEREFROM WHEREBY SHOULD AN AIRSPACE AXIS WHERE THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLIES DIVERGE FROM THEIR JUXTAPOSED INTERBONDED RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER TO OVERLAP SAID SERRATED PORTIONS OF SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PLIES SAID PROJECTIONS FORM A TORTUOUS WALL ALONG SUCH AIRSPACE FOR COLLECTING AIRBORNE BACTERIA INDUCTED BY AIR CURRENTS INTO SUCH AIRSPACE. 